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Benefits of Research Experience (A Farewell From the Outgoing Editor)Randolph A. Smith, Editor, Lamar University

ABSTRACT:When
I began my stint as editor of the Psi Chi
Journal of Undergraduate Research (PCJUR),
I wrote an editorial (Smith, 2009) in which I laid out my philosophy and my
reasons for working with PCJUR. I
noted that I was supported and encouraged to engage in research as an
undergraduate and graduate student. I also noted that I carried this support
over to my teaching, and that I believed that students benefitted greatly from
engaging in research. In this parting editorial, I want to provide some support
for that statement about students benefitting from the research process.

ABSTRACT:The Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate
Research has undergone an exciting transformation into the Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research,
a peer-reviewed, indexed journal, that now accepts manuscripts from all Psi Chi
members. This change provides an excellent opportunity to review the evolution
of the Journal and submission criteria as well as the twists and turns that the
life of a submitted manuscript takes potential authors through once manuscripts
are entrusted to the Psi Chi Journal
team.

Predicting Body Shame of College Women Based on Sexual Victimization
Recency and FrequencyAva T. Carcirieri and Suzanne L. Osman, Salisbury UniversityABSTRACT: We
examined body shame based on sexual victimization experience, including its
recency and frequency. Participants were 228 undergraduate women from a midsize
public university. They completed the Body Shame subscale (BSS) of the
Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS; McKinley & Hyde; 1996) and the
Sexual Experiences Survey (SES; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). As
predicted, women who experienced sexual victimization within the past year had
greater body shame than women who experienced it earlier or not at all.
However, unexpectedly, the latter two groups did not differ on body shame, and victimization
frequency was not associated with body shame scores. Recent victimization
experience may be most salient in the mind of the victim. Furthermore, perhaps
women with recent victimization have not had time to overcome potential
body-related trauma, as compared to women with earlier victimization.

The Relations of Cynical Hostility and Depression to SleepBryan T. Gastelle and Karl J. Maier, Salisbury University

ABSTRACT: Cynical
hostility is related to various sleep problems and depression; however, it is
not known if hostility relates to sleep independent of depression. We
hypothesized that hostility would negatively relate to fatigue, as well as
sleep quality and duration, but not independently of depressive symptoms.
Participants (62 men, ages 18-30; 55% White) completed measures of depression
(Beck Depression Inventory; Beck, 1987), cynical hostility (Cook-Medley
Hostility Scale; Cook & Medley, 1954), and sleep. Hostility correlated with
fatigue, r(60) = .33, p < .01, but this association did not
remain after controlling for the effect of depression, ΔR2= .24, p
< .001, in a hierarchical linear regression analysis. The finding that
depression statistically accounted for the association between hostility and
fatigue suggests that depression is important to consider as a potential
mediator in prospective studies of hostility and sleep.

Predictors of Beliefs About Altruism and Willingness to
Behave AltruisticallyAllison Howard, Donna Nelson, and Merry Sleigh,
Winthrop University

ABSTRACT:We
tested the effect of written priming about personal experiences of altruism on
college students’ beliefs about altruism. We also examined predictors of
participants’ willingness to exhibit helping behavior in a nonurgent situation.
They generally had positive beliefs about altruism. Priming did not
significantly affect participants’ beliefs about altruism, but did affect
participants’ perceptions of the motivations underlying altruistic behavior.
Similarly, priming did not significantly influence participants’ willingness to
exhibit helping behavior when participants did not expect further personal
benefits; however, participants with positive attitudes about altruism
exhibited greater willingness to help. The findings suggest that beliefs about
altruism may be stable tendencies not easily influenced by brief interventions
and also suggest that positive altruistic attitudes predict altruistic behavior
innonurgent situations.

ABSTRACT:The
goal of this study was to explore the relation between blood pressure and pain
sensitivity and examine how the presentation of a placebo expectation affected
this relation. We hypothesized that participants given an expectation that a
cream would reduce pain would report less pain than participants not given this
expectation. The results indicated that the hypothesis was correct;
participants given the placebo expectation experienced less pain than
participants in the control condition. We found negative correlations between
blood pressure and pain, such that participants with lower blood pressure
experienced the greatest pain. The introduction of the placebo expectation did
not affect this relation. Similarly, the introduction of the placebo had no
effect on blood pressure. This research contributes to the understanding of
responses to acute pain.

Home to Work Spillover and Psychological Distress
in
Middle-Aged WomenChristina M. Marini and Katherine L. Fiori, Adelphi University

ABSTRACT:Our
primary aim was to evaluate the interactive nature of positive and negative
spillover from home to work in predicting depressive symptomatology in a
middle-aged sample of employed women (N
= 3,511 and mean age = 54). Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study
(Hauser & Sewell, 1957-2005), we ran a hierarchical linear regression to
test our hypotheses that positive spillover would be negatively associated and
negative spillover positively associated with depressive symptoms and that
positive and negative spillover would interact in predicting psychological
distress. Our hypotheses were largely supported. Our findings demonstrate the
potential for positive spillover to buffer against the detrimental effects of
negative spillover on mental health in a population of women typically
overlooked in the literature on home-work spillover (i.e., middle-aged employed
women likely caring for adult children and/or aging parents).

The Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research educates, supports, and promotes professional development, and disseminates psychological science. Only original, empirical manuscripts that make a contribution to psychological knowledge are published. Authors are Psi Chi members at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty level.